I must interrupt my series on Why I Travel to bring you a gastronomic interlude worthy of kings and dinosaurs.
(**NOTE** - I finally figured out how to put sharing buttons on my posts so now you can easily link to your social outlets and please do..cheers)
Last night in celebration of Juliet accepting an extension to keep us here in Denver through the summer we dined at the highly touted Sushi Den. Long regarded as one of the most excellent examples of great fish service in the USA we have anticipated this experience for nearly 9 months before finally taking the plunge.
Sushi Den is known for their daily arrivals of fresh market fish flown in from Fukuoka on Kyushu Island, Japan. The brother of the two chefs and owners of Sushi Den selects the fish and manages the fresh packing and direct shipments to Denver. The results are unique varieties of fish and exceptional examples of location which to many of us who adore sushi are the keys to excellence (along with the skills of the chefs and the handling of the product).
As soon as we rolled in the door at half past eight there was not a seat in a restaurant that was much larger than anticipated. The GM met us at the door and immediately complimented me on my Rockmount shirt (I am not kidding). He then told us we should sit at the owner, Yasu Kizaki's station which we of course accepted. The hostess said it could be an hour wait for his station so we plopped down at the bar and started on Sake' a 300ml bottle of Suijin Junmai (+10) Iwate, Japan. Crisp and brilliant I knew I was in the right place. In only 1/2 an hour we were seated.
Chef Yasu looked us over immediately and probably assumed I was a bit of a DB in my loud and beautiful stitched shirt. When I told him I wanted him to drive the truck he seemed very skeptical. He asked me to tell him what we eat. I told him we are adventurous and he said, "No, tell me what you eat!" I said seriously we are wide open. "Where you from?' He belted! I said, totally wanting to set a picture I would not have to explain, New York City! "Where you eat there?" he said still very uncertain of our experience level. I fired back calmly 'Sushi Yasuda".
With that he said "ahhh Yah-soo-da...now I know where to start"
We began with oysters and finished with literally a bowl of unreal Uni. As the night progressed he began to love us, lighten up, and eventually invite us to meet his brother (the founder, Toshi) and enjoy a level well above his own, as he put it. I can say in all honesty this was a Top 10 sushi experience in a canon of eating that has bordered on obsessive for the past 7 years
We plowed through another 2 carafes of this amazing sake' suggested by our chef and his Sake Sommelier.
I never intended to write a review on Sushi Den so I had no notes with me but I do have these lovely photos taken by Juliet and me.
Cheers to great sushi and a brilliant evening of celebration!
